"Fear knocked at the door; faith answered; no one was there."
I donít know to whom this quote should be attributed, but
it certainly indicates very clearly that fear is an illusion.
I create the illusion myself.
I experienced fear early in my life
and I mistakenly thought that the mere presence of it made
me a coward. I didn't know that one of the definitions
of "courage" is "the willingness to do the right
thing in spite of fear." Courage, then, is not necessarily
the absence of fear.
During the times I didn't have love
in my life. I most assuredly had fear. To fear
God is to be afraid of joy. In looking back, I realize that,
during the times I feared God most, there was no joy in my
life. As I learned not to fear god, I also learned to
experience joy.